DEBBY YOUNG: 'My whole body felt numb'

Kennedy’s funeral was unlike any that I have ever seen. The funeral procession was like a punishing and painful parade for everyone. Towards the end we gasped at the sight of then 2-year-old John-John, making a final salute to his father.

By Debby Young

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Debby Young

Posted Nov. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 19, 2013 at 7:10 PM

By Debby Young

Posted Nov. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 19, 2013 at 7:10 PM

» Social News

While exiting Newman Junior High School in Needham, I looked up and noticed the dark and dreary sky. It was Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, at about 2:20 p.m., when my gaze turned straight ahead and I noticed my friend Louise running up the walkway towards me while her Aunt sat in her black car at the end of the walkway.

I noticed her Aunt slightly bent over and her head facing down. Then, Louise was face to face with me and said ‘My Aunt is crying.’ I asked ‘What for?’ She replied ‘President Kennedy has been shot!’ Suddenly my whole body felt numb and I felt a sensation of heaviness in my chest and stomach. I began to run as fast as I could all the way home.

That whole weekend we were glued to our 19-inch black and white TV, which was an open door to the aftermath of this tragedy. The events unfolded on live TV. Horror, shock, disbelief and fear showed on the faces of the people of Dallas who lined the streets.

The police quickly apprehended and arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, who was shot by Jack Ruby before he would ever go to trial. Jack Ruby was immediately apprehended and arrested. The hospital released Kennedy’s body, taken on Airforce One, along with Jacqueline in her blood stained coat and a somber Lyndon B. Johnson to be immediately sworn in as President.

Kennedy’s funeral was unlike any that I have ever seen. The funeral procession was like a punishing and painful parade for everyone. Towards the end we gasped at the sight of then 2-year-old John-John, making a final salute to his father.

Since then, there have been many investigations, books, reports and TV programs that went on for decades about the many unanswered questions and contradicting accounts of what really happened on that fateful day in Dallas.

The closest I ever came to getting answers to many of my own questions was the experience I had while on a trip to the Dallas area. I took the motorcade route tour which not only set the tone and stage that led up to Kennedy’s visit to Dallas but, also gave an in-depth explanation of the activities of Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, the Kennedys, the Dallas Police and some vigilant local citizens almost immediately after the shooting. The Dealey Plaza school building still exists and houses the 6th Floor Museum with the infamous grassy knoll across the street.

If nothing else, this experience in Dallas proved to be very enlightening, nostalgic and actually brought some closure to an unforgettable and unbelievably tragic event that changed my world forever.Debby Young is from Scituate.